Giving and Receiving God’s Grace

Fortunately, I got out of it. Not because I outsmarted anybody, but because somebody showed me grace when I deserved judgment.

My final year of high school I worked for a produce company in southern California. One day my boss had me tag along with one of the truck drivers. We drove for hours to drop off a load of potatoes, only to discover when we got there that all of the workers had gone on strike. Our time was completely wasted, and we didn’t get back into town until two in the morning. I was beat and in a hurry to go home.

I guess I was in too big of a hurry because a police officer pulled me over for doing seventy in a fifteen – 55 miles an hour over the speed limit! I could have gotten into a lot of trouble.

Fortunately, the officer showed me grace. I hadn’t been drinking, and he believed that I was just a guy who’d had a really bad day and hadn’t been paying attention like I should have. It was late, and no one else was around, so I hadn’t endangered anybody. He let me off with a warning. All I could do was apologize and offer him a potato from the 45-pound box in the seat beside me.

Doesn’t really seem like a fair trade if you ask me. The officer gave me grace, and all I had to offer was a potato.

But that’s what grace does. That’s what grace is. Grace always gives more than it gets in return. Grace offers us what we need, not what we deserve.

On our next Focus on the Family Broadcast “Giving and Receiving God’s Grace,” we’re airing a talk from Phil Callaway who uses humor and fun stories to share how to live in a moment-by-moment celebration of God’s grace.

Join us on your local radio station, online, on Apple Podcasts, via Google Podcasts, or on our free phone app. And get a copy of Phil’s book To Be Perfectly Honest for a gift of any amount. The book chronicles Phil’s year of telling the truth in his relationships, his reputation, and in his finances – no matter what the cost. Visit our website for more information or call 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).